Post appraisal, Cognizant asks underperformers to go

According to sources, all the employees who fell in the lowest bracket of assessment are to face the axe. An internal communication was sent to project leaders for the same.

CHENNAI: Post the latest appraisals, technology firm Cognizant has asked its underperformers, across functions and levels, to leave the organization. While, sources said there were more than 500 'underperformers' in the list, this could not be verified.

According to sources, all the employees who fell in the lowest bracket of assessment this year are to face the axe. The appraisal was completed recently and the bonus that was paid for the year 2012 recently , at 80%-100 %, was also less than 2011 average of 169%.

An internal communication was sent to project leaders informing them of the decision to send home the underperformers.

"Each year, after our annual performance management cycle (Cognizant terms it as Performance Improvement Plan or PIP), relative underperformers leave the company or are counseled out in the interest of both the individual and the company. This is a common practice among all companies that focus on meritocracy and high performance," a Cognizant spokesperson said.

"500 is not a huge number seen from Cognizant's viewpoint . They generally did just in-time hiring and I think they are just running a tight ship right now and may go for recruitment later. The pessimism is only due in Infosys although no other players are reporting weak sentiment. TCS, in fact, is looking at a higher growth than last year," said Ankita Somani, IT analyst at Angel Broking.

Tech companies are tightening their belts and holding back large scale recruitments to contain costs. In some companies like HCL Technologies, the on-boarding — a process where campus recruits join the firm — for 2011 batch is yet to begin.

Software exports growth from India's IT outsourcing sector is set to accelerate in the fiscal year, industry lobby Nasscom had predicted, as hopes rise that an improving global economy will drive demand . The sector's exports are expected to grow between 12% and 14% in 2013-14 to $87 billion. "This is slightly better than last year, but there still exists lot of pain in the system. Utilisation levels at several companies are at decadal lows, forcing companies to run a tight ship," sources said